3/31 ktails & Ringies

I got out Monday morning, and fished alone until 1:30. It was BEAUTIFUL! What a morning! I was able to boat two 26″ fish, and a 24″ in about 5 minutes of each other. Caught many pike as well, obviously staging for the spawn, or post spawn…They love K-tails! Purple/White Ring Worms, and Chameleon were the hot colors for me. K-tails, silver/black, and chartruese/pearl were unstoppable! I called Chappy and said “Get down here, they are snapping like gators!” We got into a pod of sauger that ran between 18 & 22″. Pitched, jigged, dragged, it just didn’t matter. Here is a picture of a fat sauger that was released. She came on a charteuese K-tail and a H2O Precision jig. We used Precision and knuckleball jigs. The wide gaps on these hooks is phenominal for hook setting.
Tuck

I haven’t kept any fish for a while, and seeing as how it is Lent and all…Time for a fry!
Here is a “Pole Pic” at Everts Resort.
Tuck

Sounds like you had a good time Tuck.
I had very similair action on Sunday down there. Lots of nice saugers and couple piggies to boot. Stuck one 28″+ fish real shallow late in the afternoon on a chartruese/pepper ringworm with several 20″+ fish shortly after the bigger fish.

I had the pleasure of having Dave Koonce in my boat on Saturday and I caught my first fish ever handlining. Dave brought all the gear needed for a small dosage of handlining, so we dug it out mid morning and on my first pass, I boated 3 saugers. Cool…thanks Dave for the help getting started here. Handlining definately has a time and place when 3-ways are not producing!

Tuck, I think James is working on getting the atachments to work out as soon as some other higher priority issues get resolved.
Thanks for the report.

Just wondering what sort of weights you guys are using on your plastics on the river… I’ve always used around 3/8 oz. on the river in order to keep in contact with the bottom, but never done real good on the river either… It sounds like most of you guys are using lighter weights? If so, are you fishing areas out of the current in order to stay down or slipping the current?

Rigman,

Light has been the key for the most part in waters shallower than 10 foot for me lately. By light, I have been sticking with 1/16th-1/8th oz for jig heads. By going this light, it gives the ringworm a very natural flow with the current and stays in the strike zone for a longer period of time. For the most part this is not a very aggressive search tool for finding fish quickly, therefore go slightly heavier in some areas that you are uncertain of until fish contact has been made and at that point go light immediately to strike while the iron is hot!

Typically, in low water, for me it is 1/8 depending on bulk of the bait. It seems to be OK for Ringworms right now, 1/1 for pitching, and 1/8 fo dragging. If I want to go faster, I just up the weight to about 1/4.
Hope that helps… Oh, also, it depnds on the depth you are fishing. I use these weights from water right now from 5 to 20 feet.
Tuck

does anyone ever tip the ringworm with minnow? And do any of you use a stinger hook? Any help would be great…..

No and no. Or at least I don’t. Certainly there is no need for a stinger. They usually just woof the whole darn thing right down.

ive noticed they use stingers in iowa at guttenberg and bellvue. they also like to use the lizards as well as worms. these arent ringworms though. they are 6 inch worms. the size of the fish is why they use stingers in iowa. i agree with james, you wont need one at redwing. they let you know their knocking at the door.

whenever i am using ringworms they usually do the work for you and take quite a bit in, so when you feel that thump set the hook and hang on. no stinger

You may need to stick a needle nose up a walleye’s “private parts” to remove a stinger hook, cuz you ain’t gonna reach it from the mouth very often! Another vote for no stinger.

its the same with Super Doos for that matter… most often you are sticking your finger down their throat to dislodge the hook…. cuz its down the hatch…. they thump em good… and the ringworms.. it seems they go straight for the head on them things!…. or maybe the throat? whatever they think they are… they want em dead!!

The 1/16 oz. H20 Precision jig has been great for shoreline pitching. Ringies get good press for obvious reasons, BECAUSE THEY WORK! But I have been taking some very nice fish dragging Kalins during the day when the sun is high.
Tuck

Hey Tuck, by dragging do you mean drifting, casting and dragging back to the boat, or slow trolling upstream?
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